A Century Worth Celebrating

from 2023 JLLR Interaction

Holiday House Magic

Six years of planning and hundreds of hours of service culminate in an eventful Centennial Celebration for JLLR

by: Meagan Davis

The Centennial Celebration may have taken place in 2022, but planning for the event started at least six years prior. The Centennial Celebration was not just a culmination of 100 years of community impact by the Junior League of Little Rock, but also a testament to the countless hours spent in brainstorming, researching, developing, and implementing by dedicated members and sustainers of the League. The Centennial Celebration was true to its theme, “Legacy of Impact,” showcasing our history, our members, and our impressive community footprint.

The JLLR Centennial Task Force was formed in 2016 to create a compendium report of recommendations, strategies, goals, committee structure, and feedback from other Junior Leagues across the globe who had celebrated their 100th anniversary. This base structure was utilized by the Centennial Celebration Committee (CCC), a group of women who have devoted the past four years to ensuring the League’s 100th anniversary was a commemoration worthy of JLLR’s vast accomplishments. And in the midst of a pandemic, the CCC prevailed with a year that highlighted our League’s history and incited excitement for its future.

Members of the CCC reflect on their four years of service to this project as both challenging and incredibly rewarding. From Zoom meetings to event postponements, the pandemic added obstacles to an already considerable task, but the committee persevered. CCC Co-chair Candace Anderson acknowledged the difficulty added by the pandemic but affirmed that the committee “never gave up hope that [they] would be able to eventually gather in larger groups for volunteer days and a celebration party.”

Thanks to the perseverance and dedication of the CCC members, those dreams came to fruition. The Centennial Celebration party was held on January 28, 2023, at the League building, which was adorned with celebratory decor. On a rainy and cold Saturday evening, the building was packed with active and sustaining members of all ages and their significant others to celebrate a Legacy of Impact. “The atmosphere was electric,” said CCC Marketing Subcommittee Chair Mimi M. Hurst. Former President and CCC member Sabrina Lewellen also marveled at the outcome, saying, “it was so exciting to finally reach this apex event and to see so many people come together to mark this once-in-an-organizational-

CCC Held Reading Days and Cooking Matters Classes at Rockefeller Elementary lifetime milestone.” Many CCC members also remarked on the impactful display of photos, documents, historical items, and awards from across the League’s 100 years.

The Centennial Celebration was, of course, much more than one celebratory event. The CCC worked tirelessly to ensure the League’s history of community service was highlighted, honored, and reinforced during the Centennial year.

As one of its first courses of action, the CCC met with community leaders in both the public service and nonprofit sectors to identify and address critical needs in our city. Upon learning that the Rockefeller Early Childhood Education Center lost its media center when it transitioned from an elementary school to an early childhood center, the CCC proposed the creation of an age-appropriate replacement. “My eyes were opened wide to the critical importance of the years from birth to age 4 for brain development related to literacy outcomes,” said Jennifer Ronnel, a member of CCC’s Community Impact Subcommittee. In May 2022, with a gift of $13,000 from JLLR, the media center at Rockefeller Early Childhood Education Center became a reality.

The CCC also connected with leaders of several JLLR Legacy Projects to honor them with gifts, including two $10,000 gifts in the fall of 2022. The gift to the Museum of Discovery will sponsor the Wiggle Worms program for one year. In partnership with the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, CCC’s gift will bring the Art Start program to Rockefeller Elementary. In reflecting on the meaningful work completed during the Centennial year, Mimi M. Hurst said, “It was so rewarding to me to see how several of these nonprofits or projects have evolved, grown, and continue to provide greatly to help our community.”

From reading days to Cooking Matters classes, volunteer opportunities were plentiful during the Centennial year. Candace Anderson fondly recalled

“100 Volunteers for 100 Years” as her favorite service day from the Centennial year. Held on October 8, 2022, at Arkansas Food Bank, Candace described the event as “the epitome of what the JLLR is about, bringing women together from different backgrounds with the common goal to make a difference in our community.” 2022-2023

JLLR President Tabitha McNulty was joined at the event by her two youngest children. She said the event was “a wonderful way to spend the day with other Junior Leaguers and two children while serving the community.”

Top: JLLR volunteers at Arkansas Food Bank for “100 Volunteers for 100 Years.”

Bottom: Representatives of JLLR, including the CCC, in the new media center at Rockefeller Early Childhood Education Center

MAY 2022

CCC Revealed $13,000 Gift of New Media Center to Rockefeller Elementary

AUGUST 2022

CCC Sponsored Wiggle Worms Program at Museum of Discovery for 1 year ($10,000 Gift)

AUGUST 2022

Multigenerational Event held at Museum of Discovery

SEPTEMBER 2022

Inviting Arkansas Highlights JLLR’s 100 Year Legacy of Leadership

SEPTEMBER 2022

CCC Partners with Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts to bring Art Start Program to Rockefeller Elementary ($10,000 Gift)

OCTOBER 2022

“100 Volunteers for 100 Years” Service Day at the Arkansas Food Bank

NOVEMBER 2022

JLLR Received President’s Award from Arkansas Association of Fundraising Professionals

2023

DECEMBER 2022

100 Years of JLLR Takes the Cover of Little Rock’s Soireé Magazine

JANUARY 2023

Arkansas

Democrat-Gazette Recognizes JLLR’s Community Work During the Centennial Year

Ensuring long-term League sustainability through increased engagement and financial giving was also an important focus of the CCC. CCC Membership Subcommittee Co-chairs Jamie Jones and Wendy Saer spent time reminding sustainers why they joined the League and encouraging future involvement. Maggie Young, CCC Development Subcommittee Chair, worked on reengaging longtime League supporters from a development standpoint and implemented the Second Century Campaign, ensuring sustainers and active members appreciate our rich history and support our future trajectory is vital for continued, meaningful impact.

The Centennial Celebration marks an end and a beginning for JLLR as we honor our past and we transition into a second century of service. “JLLR exists today because of the vision and labor of the hundreds of women who have belonged to JLLR since 1922,” Candace said. Likewise, its future depends on the current members and sustainers who serve. When asked what advice they would give to new JLLR members, the feedback from CCC members was consistent: capitalize on every placement by learning and giving back as much as possible. Although our first century of leadership and service has come to an end, JLLR is just getting started. Cheers to another 100 years!